Kannur: Multiple complaints have been lodged against Ananthu Krishnan from almost all districts across Kerala over targeting women in the 'scooter for half the price' scam case, officials said.
Kannur City Police Commissioner Nithin Raj said an investigation process has been carried out against the group that committed the fraud. "So far, 700 complaints have been received in the district, claiming that two-wheelers will be distributed under the guise of the NGO Confederation under the name of Sardar Patel Institute of Advanced Research Development Society (SPARDS)," the Commissioner said.
A senior police officer said a total of 50 complaints have been received from the North Paravur area in Ernakulam district alone, involving fraud worth crores, the officials added. The Kerala police also said that 1,200 people have been cheated in Wayanad district alone, with 200 complainants in Mananthavady taluk.
According to officials, in Palakkad, there are 519 complainants in two cases. In Alappuzha, 500 people have filed complaints in three cases. One complaint has been received in Kottayam, they added. In Idukki, there are 18 cases and 303 complaints across various police stations, police said. In Kozhikode, there is a complaint that Rs 72,51,300 was defrauded from 98 people, they added.
According to police, Ananthu convinced people that he was the National Coordinator of the National NGO Federation and that he had been entrusted with managing the CSR funds of various companies in India. Police said that the accused set up such societies in every block of the state and collected money through 62 "seed societies."
The police also said that the accused used his political links to convince the survivors, and the role of certain political leaders was also being investigated in connection with the fraud. Many companies were not even aware that the accused was carrying out the fraud by promising CSR funds from them, police added. They also said that the accused, during an interrogation, admitted that he had not received any CSR funds from any company so far.
Ananthu Krishnan entered the public sphere by conducting a class on mushroom cultivation while studying in the 10th standard and gained popularity by teaching mushroom cultivation to a former member of the Women's Commission from Kottayam. He also ventured into public lecturing. Over time, he was also arrested for not returning Rs 5 lakh taken from a lawyer in Thodupuzha but later settled that case as well.
Ananthu began the fraud in 2022 under the guise of CSR funds by promising scooters worth Rs 1.25 lakh to women for Rs 60,000 and laptops worth Rs 60,000 for Rs 30,000. Middlemen who registered names for the scooters and collected payments were given Rs 5,000 each. Many middlemen profited from this scheme. Later, sewing machines, home appliances, and chemical fertilizers were also offered, officials added.
